firesteels overrated

[Calurix]

I've been using a firesteel for about 8 or 9 months now. when I started I could not light much more than cotton wool, I have found what I use as a striker has a huge difference the spine of one knife I have is almost useless (I even took a dremmel to the spine to try and get a better edge) yet I have a leatherman multi tool with a broken blade and the spine on that is excellent it can light newspaper with no shredding.

One small point that I have not seen mentioned yet is the surface area that the striker travels down to generate sparks. For me now my firesteel is no longer round I get a better shower of sparks due to the larger surface area being in contact with the striker.

 

[trekkingnut]

i went into the bushcraft store the other day to buy a spare firesteel, picked up one and he told me it was rubbish and id be better off using a different brand. apparently the way they mix the materials can affect not only the burn time, the amount of sparks, the number of strikes but also the temperature etc... the list was endless......

i ended up buying a blank and just dropping it into my zippo box and will prob forget about it unless something goes drastically wrong....

i do use a firesteel in the uk but it can at times be difficult... but... thats why they used to carry around tinder! it makes life easier. if you find some good dry tinder somewhere, pocket a bit extra for next time. i doubht you carry around one single ball of cotton wool....

try a bit of resin from an evergreen as well, its extremely flamable!

 

[DutchWalker]

If you are having a bit of trouble starting the tinder try scraping your steel a few times, place the little scrapings into the tinder and try again. If a spark hits one of the scrapings it, it should light immediately. I use this method if I cannot get it to light by just using the steel and tinder. But keep at it, the last method is more satisfying.

 

[Neumo]

Firte is such an important skill to have that it is important to practice it as much as you can & to try as many ways as you can find to make it with, IMHO. My advice is to get yourself a bit of 8" to 10" square aluminium plate & practice making very small fires on that, then cover it with water when you are finished; that way you dont burn the ground.

When using a ferro rod you need to remember that what you want is lots of sparks in a small area that travel a short distance. The classic mistake is to produce a shower of sparks that spread out & go 12 inches. You want the sparks to travel 2" or less to get the best results, in my experience. The tinder needs to be broken up so that there is lots of surface area for the sparks to catch on, that helps a lot. Get used to doing it with cotten wool balls first, then move onto scraped birch bark, where you want to keep scraping the bark until you have a good size (1 cm sqaure at least) pile, then light that. As with all fire making it pays to have twice as much tinder, twigs & small sticks than you think will do the job.

Dont give up & keep practicing. If you rely only on a lighter then one day you want have one or it wont work, so you will have no fire.

 

[Neumo]

Also, check out this method of using a steel where the tinder sits between the striker & the rod. It sounds strange but it really works:

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?2918-Ferro-rods...

 

[Paul_B]

I have used a LMF firesteel to light a gas stove a few times and gave up on it. Also tried with a woodburner (honey stove) on hammaro paper (well I was new to this) and TBH found a lighter is better. My stove has a PZ ignition to it that works very well so I don't need a firesteel really. I generally carry a firesteel, matches (cooks ones that are longer) and a lighter that is refillable (cheapo one) that also has a replaceable striker wheel (which comes out and can be used on its own for a nice shower of sparks). I use whichever one I want to at the time. Whatever works for you but it is good to have back ups in a different style of lighting tool I think. Also to be able to use them all.

I have a LMF ferro rod with the striker it came with. When I lost it I bought a vango one. Since then I have found the LMF one but in a direct comparison I reckon the vango one is better. The striker is a sharper edge on the vango and it is a right handed only unlike the LMF thzt you can swap the striker to your left hand and still have the striker surface on the top of the rod. The vango would be underneath as it has a striking surface on one side only. Or at least it seems to me. Anyway in a test to light the gas stove the vango one worked better. It also had a bigger and longer burning shower of sparks. In fact in my living room they managed to survive to the ground. Not good idea. I am guessing if the ferro rod and striker gives more sparks that last longer before fading then it is better for the lighting of whatever you are trying to light.

However use whatever you want to use, the purpose is to get the fire lit as efficiently as you can. Its not a firelighting fashion show just a tool. Whatever works best for you. If thats banging a rock with steel or using a pocket blowtorch its no matter. Just have a backup as you might need it with any tool (even if its just that you forgot the main lighter when packing or lost it on the ground).

 

[yomperalex]

I didn't think very much of ferro rods until recently - much for the same reasons.

though I have persevered - first the right tinder, what has worked for me include:

tampons and cotton wool;
toilet paper;
brown paper bag that had contained nuts and therefore oily;
birch bark.

These all took easy and helped me persevere.

I also generally press the end of the ferro rod into the tinder and get a real blast of sparks.

definitely a piece of kit to carry.

Alex

 

[jamin]

i agree. there handy to have as a just in case or to light gas stoves but when you have matches / lighter it just takes up lots of time. i do belive in learning the skill as it isnt just as easy as it looks.

 

[Nonsuch]

I like using one but 95% of the time it's a lighter or matches. When the lighter and matches are wet then the fire-steel will get you out of trouble (assuming your tinder is still dry of course…)

I don't use the striker and find the back of my knife hugely better. I also brace my knife-holding hand over the tinder on top of my foot then pull the fire-steel away. Works every time.

 

[sasquatch]

I like using one but 95% of the time it's a lighter or matches. When the lighter and matches are wet then the fire-steel will get you out of trouble (assuming your tinder is still dry of course&#8230

I don't use the striker and find the back of my knife hugely better. I also brace my knife-holding hand over the tinder on top of my foot then pull the fire-steel away. Works every time.

Plus one on that approach, there's a technique to removing metal from the striker for a shower of hot sparks and pulling it away works best for me. I usually use a flint and steel mainly but when I can't be bothered in winter or rain I just use a lighter if I'm pressed for time.

 

[trekkingnut]

Plus one on that approach, there's a technique to removing metal from the striker for a shower of hot sparks and pulling it away works best for me. I usually use a flint and steel mainly but when I can't be bothered in winter or rain I just use a lighter if I'm pressed for time.

awww i was just going to suggest pulling the firesteel away instead of pushing forward with the striker.... totally beat me to it there... kudos to you sir for having a more astute mind!

 

[Gotte]

I have not used matches, lighter or ferro stick in ages - though I carry some of each - real Flint and Steel is my method of preference
It just feels right!

I've only just mastered a firesteel, and would love to try flint and steel. To me, though more difficult, there seems a certain purity to it. I suppose it's not the necessity, but rather the art of the thing.

 

[sasquatch]

awww i was just going to suggest pulling the firesteel away instead of pushing forward with the striker.... totally beat me to it there... kudos to you sir for having a more astute mind!

Ha ha, don't feel bad, Nonsuch beat me to it in the post before mine, I was just agreeing with what he said. Great minds think alike and all that eh...

 

[Canadian Kodiak]

Totally not overrated...if anything they're almost essential to any kit. There's likely a myriad of things that are hindering your progress with this highly useful item.

Firstly, most firesteels come coated in some type of protective coating that often has to be removed first before a decent shower of sparks can be produced. You can remove this coating simply by taking the striker that comes with it and scraping the firesteel a few times. You'll notice a change in color as the coating is removed.

Secondly, use some real simple tinder to start off with while you are learning. Cotton balls are great. Fluff it up a bit to get some more surface area and oxygen within the material.

Thirdly, try resting the end of the firesteel on something firm like a rock. So when you scrape it with your striker it stays in one place and you don't accidentally smother the sparks that fall into your tinder.

Fourthly, the striker your using may be substandard. It either needs to be burred on one side, serrated or squared off like the back of a good bushcraft knife for best performance. Try using different materials for strikers. Although I've never used this particular item before I've read that a small piece of saw blade, like that from a hacksaw, is quite useful in this regard.

But most importantly, practice, practice, practice. Like any new skill it will take some time to get the nuances of how to use and firesteel effectively and properly.

Keep working at it and best of luck.

 

[John Fenna]

I've only just mastered a firesteel, and would love to try flint and steel. To me, though more difficult, there seems a certain purity to it. I suppose it's not the necessity, but rather the art of the thing.

I hope to be running a short "flint and stel firelighting" workshop at the moot
As I get older I find myself trying to distance myself from "Hii-tech" and go ever more "low-tech" ...as long as I stay comfortable!

 

[No Idea]

When I read that these firesteels were the way to do things, I was sceptical.

I got some to play with.

Watched some vids of how to on you tube.

Got some cotton wool.

Copied their techniques.

Took me ages to get them to work. Irritated me as I sort of felt it should be easy.

I started with the firesteel at least 12 ins from the cotton wool.

Took a while to even get it to spark - didnt know about the protective layer.

Er....It took me a while to even manage to get one of the sparks to hit the wool. Most missed or died on the way.

After a few days...I managed to get some cotton wool to light.

I spent some time fidgetting with it until I could get a light out of it in 5 or 6 goes.

Then I gave it to my brats.

After a few hours...One managed to get it to light.

Then the other lost his temper, stuck the end of the rod in the wool and tried to scrape the rod in half.

The result burnt his fingers.

So....

In Their Humble Opinion...

I now shove the end of the rod within an inch of the wool, bark, leaves, meths, paper, or whatever else I want to ignite.

I graunch the striker down the rod - hard.

I get fire pretty much first time every time.

So do the kids.

Our kits all contain cotton wool, a half sheet of newspaper, some radiator dried birch bark, some cardboard strips and some tea stirrers from the supermarket cafes - with our firesteels.

I dont smoke, so I dont naturally carry matches. I think I could get into trouble giving matches tothe kids, but the firelighters...

One even taught some coppers how to use one a while back without getting into trouble.

 

[slowworm]

Also, check out this method of using a steel where the tinder sits between the striker & the rod. It sounds strange but it really works:

http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?2918-Ferro-rods...

Thanks for the tip, I tried it and it works very well. Now I've got used to my ferro rod I find it very useful and sometimes it seems to work better than a cheap match or lighter. In windy conditions it can be hard to keep the match/lighter alight long enough but a well directed shower of sparks seems to work for me.

I've also just tried using a cramp ball, placed on the blade, on the front side and next to the rod, and after a couple of strikes that often catches a spark and smoulders for a few minutes and is ideal for lighting a fire.

 

[Xunil]

My four year old daughter Charlotte, earlier today, demonstrating the results of successful firesteel technique outside one of my mates caravans:

She also helped prep some of the fuel, but I feathered the sticks and did the knife work

Her first few tries sent the makings of the fire scooting off in all directions - after about 5 'misfires' she nailed it bang on.

Later on we did a little archery, then went fishing. We did fire by friction last week, which she thought was real magic.

A chip off the old block

 

[finite]

some good tips on this tread but i use a firestreel all the time and have no problem. Much easier than flint and steel but i still use both. The trick is as Mojoracinguk touched on. You need to get larger shavings of metal which are hotter and last longer. The technique I use is to push the steel with my thumb to get larger sparks.

 

[timboggle]

awww i was just going to suggest pulling the firesteel away instead of pushing forward with the striker.... totally beat me to it there... kudos to you sir for having a more astute mind!

Yep, same here, I shove the rod straight into the tinder pile and secure the strike plate to the toe of my boot then pull the rod towards me and away from the tinder pile, thus maximum sparks and heat are concentrated within the centre of the tinder pile, usually lights first time every time.